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21 September, 2006, Brentwood, Tennessee, USA
When it comes to spending and investing wisely, few
people are as “on the money” as Dave Ramsey, host of the
nationally-syndicated talk radio program The Dave Ramsey Show (www.daveramsey.com).
Heard on over 250 US radio affiliates as well as XM and Sirius satellite
radio, The Dave Ramsey Show recently upgraded its facilities to include
a new Axia IP-Audio network based around the Axia Element modular
broadcast console.
Blake Thompson, the show’s producer, describes what made
Axia such a compelling choice for their studio upgrade: “We were very
impressed with the Axia system’s ability to handle remotes and Dave’s
FOX News simulcasts. The system has made the entire procedure very
simple in both regards. With Axia, there’s no more ‘patching in the
closet’ to make things work properly. Now, we can set up our radio show,
our local TV show, and a remote or simulcast using the Show Profiles on
the Element console. With essentially one push of a button, we’re ready
to go.” (Show Profiles are an Element feature that lets users instantly
load previously-saved console configurations, allowing instant “scene
changes” at the touch of a button.)
The upgrade to Axia came after Ramsey inked a deal for
wider distribution with Cumulus Media, the nation’s second-largest radio
broadcast group. Thompson reports The Dave Ramsey Show is experiencing
dramatic growth in its number of affiliates and listeners, and with
growth comes the responsibility to have the most fail-safe and efficient
operating procedures possible. “The show is heard by more than two
million listeners each week on more than 250 radio stations throughout
the United States,” says Thompson. “Our new Element console gives us the
comfort and security to handle this growth — making my job less
stressful.”
Ramsey frequently works from his lake house, so the Axia
system’s ability to seamlessly handle remotes was an important
consideration in lowering the number of “best of” re-runs when Ramsey
was at the lake. An ISDN line at the house connected to a Telos Zephyr
Xport sends Dave’s aacPlus™ remote audio to the Zephyr Xstream in
the studio.
“All of the calls, production elements, and spots come
out of the Brentwood studios and are mixed with Dave’s feed from the
lake house,” says Thompson, “which are then fed back out to ABC via the
Telos Zephyr. Our new Axia Element makes it easy for us to set up a
‘Lake House’ Show Profile — so when it’s time to do the remote, all we
have to do is hit one button to set the entire board.”
In addition to being delighted with the system’s
performance, Thompson is equally upbeat about the installation
experience. “We set aside roughly a week for the upgrade and, looking
back, it didn’t even take that long! During this time, we ran a few
‘Best Of’ shows while our studio engineer worked with Axia’s Kirk
Harnack to get the system operational and, ever since, the setup has
been working extremely well.”
The Axia product line includes a family of “audio nodes”
to interface with microphone, analog line and AES/EBU devices, IP-Audio
drivers to eliminate PC soundcards, and Element and SmartSurface control
consoles.
Reflecting on the new Axia system and their experience,
Thompson is eager to share his enthusiasm with prospective Axia users.
“Our Element console was easy to learn and Dave loves the look of it.
He’s happy that it makes things easier on his team in the control room.
I would highly encourage those considering a studio upgrade to talk with
the Axia team.”
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Dave Ramsey is on the air from his newly Axia-equipped
studios in Brentwood, TN; Axia Element console and display are seen in
the foreground. This press-ready photo can be downloaded from the Axia
picture gallery at www.AxiaAudio.com/pix
.
Axia, a Telos company, builds
Ethernet-based professional IP-Audio products for broadcast, production,
sound-reinforcement and commercial audio applications. Products include
digital audio routers, on-air control surfaces, DSP mixers and
processors and software for configuring, managing, and interfacing
networked audio systems.
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